To generalize means to form a broad conclusion based on specific examples or observations. When you generalize, you notice patterns in what you've seen and use them to make statements about a larger group or situation.

For instance, if you visit three bakeries and they all have friendly staff, you might generalize that bakeries tend to have friendly people working in them. If you read several mystery novels and notice they all have unexpected plot twists, you might generalize that mystery stories usually include surprises.

Generalizing helps us make sense of the world quickly. Scientists generalize from experiments: after testing how plants grow under different conditions dozens of times, they can generalize about what plants need to thrive. Teachers generalize from years of experience to understand how students learn best.

However, generalizing has risks. Overgeneralizing means drawing conclusions that are too broad or treating exceptions like they don't exist. If you meet one unfriendly person from a particular town and generalize that everyone from that town is unfriendly, you're making an unfair leap. Good generalizations recognize that exceptions exist. You might say “generally speaking” or “in most cases” to show you understand your conclusion doesn't apply to absolutely everything.

The related noun is generalization, as in: “That's a reasonable generalization based on what we've observed.”